Find Me
by Darashini
Summary: Legolas is convinced that Aragorn will have a happier life with Arwen and is determined to leave. Can Aragorn convince him otherwise before he is gone from the ranger's life? one-shot, SLASH, and PG13 for a few swears...
1. Default Chapter

Find Me

Pairings: Only the cutest couple ever: Aragorn x Legolas

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I also do not own any money, so really,trying to get money from me won't do you much good...And flames will be greatly appreciated in their own right, as they will be used to burn my math book to a crisp...Anyway...Me hopey you likey!

All was silent in the castle of Gondor. Sleep aided those in bed with peaceful dreams of hope for the years to come. Save for two. The stone halls usually filled with people running to and from the king were frighteningly bare for a few unbearable moments before a single person raced around a corner. The light footfalls of the runner were almost undetectable, and would be in a crowd. As this graceful creature ran, sprinting through the moonlight silvering through the windows lining the corridor, he allowed himself a quick glance over his shoulder, golden hair fanning out as his head moved. No one followed. A silent sigh breezed over his lips before he slowed to a fast walk. Looking down at his feet, as if to hide his face or catch his breathe, he failed to notice the door ahead silently swing open and a dark shadow detached itself from his fellows to stand in the path of the on-coming walker. As if detecting the presence in front of him, the fair haired being glanced up and immediately skidded to a halt. As the dark attacker sensed that his prey was about to bolt, he lunged forward and captured the others wrists in his hands, just as he was turning for a dash to freedom. A quiet scuffle ensued, but did not last long. Darkness overwhelmed the light and the arrested runner was pinned against the stone wall. Golden hair was tousled over the owners face, revealing a pointy ear previously hidden in the tresses. As the adrenalin of the chase seeped away, all that could be heard in the silent halls was the panting of the two fighters. The elf was the first to break the silence, having gotten his breathe back sooner.

"Damn you and your secret passages. Should've known you'd cheat." It was said in a light-hearted manner, but there was an underlying weariness in his words.

The dark figure looked up, a pained expression in his steely eyes.

"You told me you wanted me to live a happy life, Legolas." Immediately, all false cheer evaporated from the lighted face.

"That happy life would be better spent with the Lady Arwen, Aragorn. You and I both know this." The words came from eyes that told the reality of life. That the truth hurt and could not replace the ache within with any honour. Aragorn's face became one of distress.

"_Why can't I make you understand!_"he hissed, looking beseechingly into the eyes of the elf. "I wouldn't live a happy life. Not with her." With his closing words, he stopped any further protest from the elf by aggressively seizing his lips in a fierce kiss. It lasted several seconds, as if the dark man was trying to pour all his arguments into this one chance to convince the elf to stay. To stay with him. Finally the kiss broke, but neither moved away from each other. It was quiet for a long pause and it seemed as though the elf's arguments had been defeated...

"...We can't, Aragorn. Your people would never except it."

...or not. But the dark still had one more trick left to play. One final hope in which to ensnare the light

"Damn the people. I don't have to be King. We can go down to the stables right now-"

"Aragorn-"

"-Take two horses and ride away. I don't want to be King, especially if you're not there to help me with theproblems I can't handle." The elf's curiosity was piqued, both knew it. Yet his next words were given cautiously, as if stepping gingerly around a trap.

"..Problems like what?" Aragorn heart almost stopped. _All the problems_, he thought. _Every single one that's brought before me and I'm expected to solve. If you leave, this kingdom will be in chaos by nightfall. I am nothing without your judgements.I am nothing without you._He wished he could say that. But the elf would be lost among the words and only an extreme argument would keep him now.

"..Someone's trying to kill me." Aragorn almost winced. Did it really have to be that extreme...?

"What! Who!"

Then again...maybe it did.

"...You."

The elf's elegant eyebrows knotted in confusion.

"...Aragorn, I don't understand. Why would I kill you?"

"I don't know. But you're leaving, and that's enough to rip my heart apart."

Silence followed and Aragorn knew at once with a shock what was about to happen.

_He's leaving...Oh Valor, he's actually going to leave me..._ The sharp reality fell into place with the force of a battering ram and Aragorn was yanked away from the wall and the elf by the sheer force of it. It took all his control not to cry out because of the pain in his chest. It felt like he would actually die. It was hard to breathe and his throat clenched painfully as he fought not to let the stinging tears fall from his eyes. He couldn't look up. He knew what he would see and he would sign over all of middle earth before he would willingly look up.

Even over the pounding of his heart, he heard the soft footsteps bringing the elf, his elf, closer towards him. He stayed looking at the floor, only the toes of the elf's shoes showing in his vision. Though he knew he couldn't look, he was furious at himself for not doing so. _He's going to leave and the last sight I'll have of him will be of his toes?_ Even as he bullied himself to look up, say something, do anything to keep his love from leaving, the elf spoke.

"I have to go."

That was it. Four simple words that were the swords in Aragorn's heart.

He knew it would happen. He knew his elf would leave him. He had just prayed that it wouldn't be this soon. The soft footsteps faded away until not even a whisper of the elf's clothes could be heard. As if released from a spell, Aragorn's head jerked up and he whirled around, staring at the back of the retreating elf. Even as he looked, he felt his heart harden. Loss was replaced with defiance, heartbreak with determination.

"I'll find you, Legolas." he called to the elf, using a loud voice he knew was unwise so late at night. But he didn't care.

"Wherever you go, I will hunt you. You'll never be safe. If you run, I'll catch you. If you hide, I'll find you."

The elf turned andAragorn saw the shimmer of unshed tears in his love's eyes. Even through the tears, he could see the same emotions he had felt. Defiance. Determination.

"You're the best tracker in the world, Aragorn. When have I ever doubted that you wouldn't find me."

FIN

Hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it! sigh Gotta love Aragorn chasing after Leggy, don't cha?

So, now all that's left for you to do is review! Pretty please with dancing penguins on top? You know you waaaaaaant to...Just click that button!

TA!

Darashini


	2. Legolas POV

Find Me

Erm...Well. I never expected my story would be so well received. Hence, I never anticipated need for another chapter. Please excuse the horrendously long wait! (Bad writer, bad!) So, anyway, here's chapter 2 (finally). Standard disclaimer applies...(see chapter one) (But this time flames will be used to warm me up, because it's pretty much monsoon season over here...Where the bleep is my summer sun, huh! All I know is it's not cooperating...)

The sun rose carefully and quietly over Middle Earth, trying not to cause ripples in the deep blue sea that was the sky. However gingerly it stepped over the horizon, the sun did not go unnoticed by one creature. A lonely hare had crept out of his hidden home underneath a bush, perhaps bent on finding a safe store of food for the day. Or maybe to watch the Great Light cross the sky, as all creatures referred to the sun. Or possibly just to stare out at the land before him and notice that all his family were still missing. They had left him one day, deciding that instead of staying, they were going to find a new home with more food and less of the Tall Ones, as they called humans. The hare was the only one who had stayed and was still waiting for them to come back home.

/But they did not come today/ the hare twitched his ears in lonely boredom. /Maybe the next time the Great Light crosses, they will be here./ Content to sit for a while before going to look for something to eat, the hare settled down to watch the sky.

Looking up however, he was suddenly immobilized with mindless terror. Death was up there, circling in powerful spirals on wings of feathered dread. And worst of all, those eyes that burned through everything like fire born on the wind, surrounding you, scorching. The hare couldn't move. The slightest twitch would bring the great hunting bird down on him in seconds, carrying him aloft in steely talons. The hare closed his eyes, waiting for a screeching cry of triumph and the swooping sound of wings that would mean he had been found.

But nothing happened for several minutes. Hopefully, the hare opened his eyes a crack to see if the killer had left him alone. No...It was still there, but very high up in the sky now. Very close to the Great Light, casting enormous shadows every time it circled in front of the sun.

/Could I run? Would it be safe/ The indecision of the hare caused his ears to flick and he realized too late how much of a critical mistake that was as a wild screeching noise filled his mind.

Death had seen him. It was coming.

Terrified, the unfortunate hare made a mad dash for his burrow, only to be blocked by a flash of talons and spraying dirt as the bird dived. Feathers drifted lazily down around the hare as he thumped his hind legs in danger and scurried off in the other direction. The bird, furious at it's miss, beat its wings hard to catch up and was about to dive at the poor small animal huddling petrified between the roots of a tree. Yet it paused, sensing danger. Not from the creature it had intended as its meal, but from a different, far more dangerous intruder. A twig snapped nearby and with its strong eyes, the bird spotted a hunter the likes of which it could not hope to win against. Giving a piercing shriek at its annoyance, the bird flew up towards the sky with powerful wing strokes, leaving the hare numbed by its luck and weak with fear, but alive.

It was several minutes before the hare felt brave enough to move again, cautiously hopping away from the tree and looking after the disappearing hunter.

But what had made it leave? Was there a Tall One nearby, bent on killing him now that the bird was gone? Unfortunately, his recent brush with death had left the hare bold, and he loped away from the tree base, daring any Tall One to try and shoot him. However, boldness does not make anyone stronger, as the hare realized to late when he heard an almost sweet sound whistling through the air.

He was mid jump when the arrow struck him, and the hare fell back to the ground, scrabbling, trying to get his legs under him. But he no longer had the strength to do so, and as he lay trembling, he felt the slight vibrations in the ground that told him something was coming. Then he was lifted with gentle hands, staining them with berry red blood.

"I'm sorry," said a voice. A Tall One voice. In strange words that were foreign, yet instinctively, the hare knew what they were saying. Only the Old People used those words. Magical words. Words that the animals said had made the trees in the forest they live in come alive. And only the Old People apologized for death.

"I'm sorry that you must die for me."

/Well. Since you're nice about it./ twitched the hare, at last giving up his lonely body and floating towards the Great Light to join his family.

Legolas Greenleaf carried his burden back to his makeshift camp, situated by an old Ash tree. Gently, even though it had long passed, he set down the dead hare and washed his reddened hands in a nearby stream. As much as he had hated to do it, he needed the hare for meat and had killed it just after it had so narrowly escaped a first death. Though he comforted himself with the fact that he had been less brutal then the Hawk would have been, carrying it up thousands of feet, ending its terrified journey with the horrible crush of its talons...

Legolas shook his head angrily and splashed water on his face. 'I hate it when I get depressed like this..., ' he murmured, watching his dripping face waver in the reflection of the stream. 'Everything seems so much more morbid.' Turning away from the stream, he looked at his gear. There wasn't much of it; he had been so bent on getting out of Gondor that he had left all but the necessities, taking only his weapons, a spare cloak, and whatever food he could carry as he passed the kitchens on the way to the stables.

The elven face frowned as his traitorous mind hit on the reason for his flight from Gondor.

_Aragorn..._ The man was probably in his counseling room, focused on his city, solving problems of great import. A crystal clear image of him doing just that floated into Legolas' mind. The frown dissolved and a heavy sigh escaped the elf. A saddened look now lay upon his face, the leaden weight of it pulling Legolas' face down to rest in his hands.

_Aragorn..._ he thought again, squeezing his eyes shut against any treacherous tears._ What hold it is you have over me?_

FIN

Ahaha! How'd ya like that? Does it suffice? Hopefully the whole thing with the hare and stuff wasn't too weird...If so, expect a bit more normalcy next chapter, which will be...(drum roll please...) Aragorn's point of view! I promise, no wacky animal hunts thrown in...In fact, if I use my most awesome writers ESP and look at my notes, I foretell only of a horse being in the animal department...AND I already have that chapter sort of half-written, so it may only take me...three weeks to post it...sobs

Hope you enjoyed it!

TA!

Darashini


	3. Aragorn POV

Find Me

Aaaaaand that's another inexcusibly long wait from me...V. sorry, guys! Took a loooong time to get this one at least semi-right...So, here is the next installment in this lil fic o' mine, hope you enjoy it, and standard disclaimer applies (see chapter one). Oh, and flames will be used as HEAT, 'cause it's winter and I'm bloody cold!

Gondor was a strong city. It had seen many changes over the centuries, battles, victories, famine, death. Death most of all. But still it stood, a surly fortress grimly bearing the scars of past years and watching, watching the tiny inhabitants of its mighty halls bustling here and there, getting on with their everyday lives, unconscious of the great citadel's gaze.

But this morning, the stone city wasn't the only vigilant one. A single horse stood, framed impressively by the open land before the city. Perhaps it was just an impulsive animal that had gotten out of the stables. Perhaps it was just one of those wild horses, a stallion free to travel wherever it wished. Perhaps it was just an eager traveler that had an early start to the day after a brief stop in the city.

Well. It was a traveler. But there was an entirely different reason for his early start.

Aragorn straightened up after his close scrutiny of the grasses on which he walked, his sword and other paraphernalia knocking awkwardly against his legs. The trail, or what little there was, was already cold.

/Legolas must be at least 15 leagues away by now/ he thought grimly, hoisting himself up onto his horse. The horse, and tall chestnut mare (who he thought was called Pacus), obligingly snorted and pricked her ears forward, eager to be off. Aragorn absently patted her neck. He had opted for one of the barely used stable horses, as the royal horse given to him would be recognized. And as much as he loved his people and wouldn't want them to worry about his whereabouts, he was loath to reveal to anyone who he was and where he was going.

/Legolas can travel fast when he's alone. Even faster if he's in a hurry./ A twinge of pain flickered for a moment in his chest. It hurt that his lover was in a hurry to get away from him.

Pacus stamped her foot and snorted again, impatient. Aragorn, preoccupied with his thoughts, didn't notice.

Flashback

/It's still dark. He can't have gone too far.../

Furiously packing, throwing things into a traveling pack. His eyes stung. There were tear tracks still clearly seen running down his cheeks.

/But I don't know where he's gone...No one would have seen him leave, so no one would have stopped him...No one knew he would be leaving, so he wouldn't have had to tell anyone where he was going...So who would he have confided in...Who would he have spoken with about a sanctuary he could go to.../

Fresh tears sprung to his eyes. The answer was obvious.

/...Me./ angrily scrubbing at his eyes. /He would have told me./

The tears won. No amount of rubbing would stop them now, and they streamed down his face, testimony to his unhappiness.

End Flashback

The air raced past Aragorn's face, refreshing after a restless night and tempest morning. He shook his head, the wisps of memory blown away by the wind rushing in his ears. Come to think of it...the ground under him was passing surprisingly quickly. He hadn't even been aware of nudging Pacus into movement. Gently, he slowed her to an easier pace as he roughly quashed any anguish that threatened to overtake him.

/No point in pushing her so hard this early in the morning./

Thoughts floated around like leaves in his mind. One in particular brought memory floating up out of the haze.

Flashback

It was the three of them, riding with ...was it Eomer? No, Theoden was still alive. They were traveling with the army to wait for reenforcements at Dunharrow.

With the little time together that the three friends had, Legolas and Gimli were (of course) using it to the best of their abilities...

"They're mindless beasts! The only use they have is as baggage carriers!" Gimli complained, still in his unending campaign against horses.

"In which case, Gimli, my dear Dwarf, you must be most honored that Arod has so willingly continued to carry you. You are sure to be a great deal heavier than any baggage we possess."

"It's all muscle!" dwarf replied after a few seconds of indignant sputtering. "At least I'm not some lightweight elf, like yourself! There's the rock of Middle Earth in my bones!"

"Yes, I believe Arod has noticed." responded Legolas, adopting a pained, sympathetic look and patting the horse on the neck. The antics of the two caused a bubble of mirth to expand in Aragorn's chest and he laughed aloud, earning himself a disapproving glance from Gimli and a smile from his lover.

End Flashback

The memory faded and Aragorn still found himself with a smile on his face. Though it had been during a war, those were still some of the best times of his long life. When he could still be Strider and not have to worry about "Kingly Affairs". When he was able to do and go wherever he wished at a moments notice. When he had Legolas...

/Stop it./ he berated himself. /Wallowing in despair will not cover the leagues for you./

Besides...At least he had some vague idea of where to go, thanks to Gimli. And to think, it had only been a spur of the moment thought that he should ask the dwarf at all if he had seen the elf.

"No. Has he gone somewhere?" Gimli roughly asked as he looked at Aragorn mutinously. It seemed that waking a dwarf before sunrise to ask questions astrivial as the wereabouts of important friends was unforgivable.

"Yes. He left Gondor late last night...or early this morning...Actually Gimli, I cannot remember and with all respect, if you have no idea where he's gone either, then I must leave immediately to see if I can catch up with him." The dwarf huffed, insulted.

"Well...I never said I had absolutely no idea..." he said sulkily.

"What? Gimli...what aren't you telling me?" Aragorn restrained himself (with effort) from roughly shaking the dwarf by his shoulder to see if the answer would come rattling out of him. That would undoubtably be a bad idea, seeing as how the dwarf was clearly thinking of justfalling asleep againand letting Aragorn sort out his mess on his own...

"Well...do you remember the time at Helm's Deep, where I was shoved into the caves and separated from you two?" Gimli was teasing him, Aragorn could see that.

"Yes...Gimli, how does this help me find him now? He wouldn't have gone to Helm's Deep, would he?"

"I never said that, you brat king!Don't interrupt me! Now, you remember, after the battle was over, he promised me that he would come see the glory of those caves if I promised to go with him somewhere?" Aragorn was as still as a statue. He did dimly remember the two making a bargain like that...if only he could remember the exact details...

"...Gimli...where is it that Legolas wanted to go?"

The dwarf was obviously enjoying this torment over him, since he waited a pause before saying with great relish "Fangorn Forest."

The conversation faded and Aragorn was able to clear his eyes and focus again on the present. A grim sort of acception seemed to settle over him as he raced across the ground. Yes, Legolas was gone, he had to come to terms with that before he caught up with him, else the relations between them would only get worse. At least he had a destination in mind. It was a fair bit better then wandering aimlessly across Middle Earth.

He glanced over his shoulder at Gondor, far away already from Pacus' flying feet. In a way, even though his errand was dire, it was a relief to be out of the restraining city. No more "Kingly Duties", no more dealing with annoying advisors. And especially no more of this bowing and falling over whenever he went walking in the city. He had not realized until now just how much that simple thing had bothered him.

Pacus had to jump over a small rock in her path and the resulting jolt brought Aragorn facing forward again. He had forgotten how much concentration riding involved. He had also forgotten how much he loved it. Loved all of the things he had been missing, really. The spontaneity, the adventures... In spite of himself, a small smile lightened his face.

Most of all, it felt good just to be Strider again.

Ahaha! Well, it was touching go for a while, and I am sorry for the wait. But I hope you know that it's taking me this long just to get this bloody paragraph right. breathes a (huge) sigh of relief And now, I intend to go celebrate my victory over writers block with a viewing of...yes, you guessed it, The Fellowship! Rah rah rah!

Anyways, hope you liked this chapter...and, of course, you know you can always tell me in a review...winks...

TA!

Darashini


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